America was built on armed protest—it is how the nation was founded.
I’ve covered protests in America for the last twenty years. But it wasn’t until 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, that I saw men with guns take to the streets. It blew me away.
Since then, thanks to President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, I’ve watched the armed and emboldened masses of Boogaloo Bois, Proud Boys, and other far-right militias march unmasked past police who give them fist bumps and support. Leftist activists, by contrast, usually arrive unarmed. And they’re met with police violence: pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
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Zach D. Roberts
Boogaloo Bois, Proud Boys, and Trump supporters gather for an anti-mask rally on the lawn of the state capitol in Columbus, Ohio, on July 18, 2020.
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Zach D. Roberts
An armed man, with the image of the comic book character The Punisher painted on his face, joins the Columbus rally.
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Zach D. Roberts
When a fake Facebook event claimed “Antifa” planned to tear down statues in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, militia members from around the country descended on the historic town to “guard” its monuments on July 4, 2020.
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Zach D. Roberts
A protester walks away from police after being pelted with tear gas and rubber bullets following a George Floyd rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.
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Zach D. Roberts
Police use pepper spray on protesters outside of the Public Safety Building in Rochester, New York, after information on the police killing of Daniel Prude was released on September 3, 2020.
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Zach D. Roberts
A member of the American Indian Community Development Corporation in Minneapolis stands guard outside of buildings, following rumors that far-right groups were destroying property during the George Floyd protests, on May 31, 2020.
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Zach D Roberts
Anti-fascist members of leftwing gun groups such as Redneck Revolt and the John Brown Gun Club rally in response to a planned Ku Klux Klan rally in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on February 2, 2019.